Uh, as you can now observe, I'm going through a writer's block. So I'm ending this fiction a little early (read: this chapter is the last). But there is a sequel coming up, and I already have the prologue written. So PLEASE! PLEASE PLEASE tune in for the next episode (or the next fiction).

Every single one of you who reads this fiction: I love you, although I don't know all of you. I don't write this for myself - if I did I'll just write it, print it, then forget about it. So if you enjoy this, you're making the time I spend on this worthwhile! Thanks so much!

If anybody would like to volunteer a character for any purpose, I am more than willing to add the character in. Just please message me with the name, gender, and the description, if you wish (otherwise the decision is going to be up to me). As RaspberryPolarBear knows, I use those characters quite often - Ivanna, for example. So if you would like to see your character in the next fiction, please PM me!

ODST girl058 - Reno is a manly dude. Haha. He's funny. Most males are really silly when it comes to girl stuff - I was buying make-up once and my boyfriend drove me, and after I bought a brush he stared at me and said, "You already have two. Why do you need another one?" Silly boy - he doesn't know there are different brushes for different purposes. And they think we're stupid.

Raspberry Polar Bear - that was actually my favorite part in the chapter. I can just imagine Reno saying it coolly, as if it was nothing and he does it everyday. "Oh yeah... I punched it to death". He's a cat-killer! I don't know who got to Rufus, but since hs'a pretty powerful guy he can have his enemies... and thus we have DA TURKS. Except that I'd rather not have Reno as my bodyguard.

Moonshine's Guide - eh... I don't know if I'll hook Rufus up with Clarissa. I thought about doing a fantastic tragically sad love story between Rufus and Clarissa, but then I watched FFVII: AC and realized that Rufus isn't really cut out as a Romeo, especially with the way he's too smart to be Romeo. I won't kill Clarissa, though. I thought about hooking Ivana up too, but she's already married...

Mister Bigbucks - Why, thank you. I don't know what else to say, but thanks so much for reading my fic! By the way, I finally have over 150 reviews for this fic. Yey!

CookieKitten - In Japan, we pronounce Number 4 like the Japanese equivalent of "death", and so it's unlucky. And Reno, being a pothead he is, believes in superstitions. But I heard that a lot of spies and soldiers believe in superstitions. I guess it's because you're life's in danger 24/7. Hey, I still carry around good-luck charms when I have tests. So can't blame Reno.

NarcissisticRiceball - Hey, I'm weird too! Join the club. But then, who exactly is normal? I mean if you repeat it fast enough, it sounds like a character from Star Trek. And I guessed that along Reno's many vices, one of them should be his love for sweets. And so he wants his birthday cake (it was chocolate and strawberry cream with whole bunch of decorations, FYI).

Insanity - Nah, girls aren't picked up by the same old lines. Those are females - not women or girls. See, females just denote the biological sex. Women/girls denote the human gender, which means brains. Women can wear anything they want - if guys wear skirts they're either from Scotland or are gay. Woman can mooch off guys or work. e.t.c. I love being a girl.

Echo - I missed you! Yup, Rufus is finally getting a girlfriend. I'm trying to extend Elena/Tseng relationship, but it's not really getting anywhere. I'm trying to hook up Rude as well - not with Tifa, because I can kinda see Tifa with one of the AVALANCHE members, so maybe another OC - or Scarlett (evil laughter). That'd be terrible.

Ninja Girl Candy-Chan - I had Reno use quite a few ringtones, but I bet it's something really annoying and loud. Or maybe the Turks' Theme, which is also MY ringtone. Not the original FFVII but the new version that was used in the movie. Though it'll be really annoying for the Turks if that same tune came on everytime they appeared.

Here's da fic!


Chapter 26: Complications of Fatherhood

Reno woke up a few hours later when Arien dashed out of the bed. The bathroom door slammed, and he quite clearly heard someone being violently sick. He wondered for a few minutes who it could be, then as his head cleared he realized that there were only two people in this house – him, and her. That meant that she was sick.

He hopped off the bed. "Arien!"

"What?" came back the muffled voice, with more retching.

"Are you sick?"

"No, I'm doing this for fun," came back the sarcastic reply.

"I'll call a doctor. Go back to bed now."

The sink started to run, and then Arien opened the door with a fluffy white towel in front of her face. "No, Reno, I'm supposed to be like this."

Reno stared at her, confused.

"You're so dense," she said tiredly. She looked pale. "Remember the little problem we had before I walked out?"

Reno nodded.

"Well, I'm so glad. This time I don't think we'll have that."

"This time…?"

She nodded. Slowly, agonizingly, the thought dawned on him.

"Are you…?"

"Yes, Reno, you're going to be a father." She stopped, amused. "Although I'm surprised it didn't come sooner."

Reno was not listening. His head was in panic. The world was spinning. Or maybe he was spinning. He didn't know. He finally managed to open his mouth and blurt out:

"OH MY GOD!"


Rufus Shinra shook his head, not caring that a strand of his blond hair flopped onto his nose. "I don't believe it."

"Believe what?" Tseng asked, sitting a distance from Rufus' bed. He was punching things into his cell phone, and his fingers were a blur as he expertly input the new data. He was not really looking at the president, but Rufus knew he was listening.

"The fact that Reno was able to procreate with another mako-enhanced individual was already a miracle. It's happened again? Are you sure DeVir is actually mako-treated?" Rufus sighed. "Well, if she is actually mako-enhanced, then what kind of a child is the infant going to be?"

"A mix between Reno and DeVir," Tseng replied.

"Doesn't that frighten you?"

"A little." Tseng pursed his thin lips. "Let's hope it doesn't have DeVir's temper and Reno's humor. That would not be a pleasant combination."

Pleasant combination could have qualified as the understatement of the millennium, but Rufus Shinra did not comment on that. He regretted – a little – on naming the child his heir, but then, he could trust the parents to teach the child survival. If anything, Reno and Arien knew how to survive. He could trust them to pass on that knowledge to the child.

Tseng stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go back to Healin. Reno was ready to explode when I left," Tseng explained. Rufus nodded, giving him leave. He eyed Clarissa, who was reading a book. Her auburn hair was unbound today, and her emerald green eyes were on the letters printed on the page. She was demure and gentle, unlike Scarlett, who was a slut, or Elena, who decidedly chased Tseng around, or Arien, who marched to her goal like a tank. Rufus found himself observing her with increased interest.


Reno was still confused. All of a sudden he found additional responsibility literally on his shoulders, and he was not ready for them.

"Reno," Arien finally said exasperatedly, "It's not like this kid is coming here this very moment. Relax."

"Yeah?" Reno snapped back. "Yesterday I was celebrating my birthday, damn it! Today my girlfriend tells me she's pregnant. This world is seriously screwed."

She decided against arguing with him. Reno could wallow in self-pity now, but when it was actually around the time to have the baby, the two of them would have to run around like their asses were on fire. And you couldn't really wallow in self-pity when your rear-ends were getting scorched. And it was nearly Christmas; Reno was a winter-born baby. Arien wondered how she was going to manage all the things going on with Reno just wallowing.

"Look, Reno," Arien said mildly, "if you want me to get rid of the kid…"

"Huh?" Reno looked up. "Nah, that's okay. I'm just whining." He winked. "Besides, it's time I settle down, ya know?"

Arien raised her eyebrow. "Are you really Reno?" she asked skeptically. "Or did an alien take over? I think I like the alien better."

"Aw, thanks, yo."

In a few days Rufus was out of the hospital, but not before he promised Clarissa that he would visit her. As Reno told Tseng with an amusement in his voice, "Rufus is finally getting laid". Tseng raised an eyebrow – Reno secretly believed that Wutaians took lessons in waggling their eyebrows – but said nothing. The faster Rufus got married, the better. Rufus was in his mid-twenties and he had never even glanced at a female with interest.

"She'll be a nice decoration," was Arien's criticism, "but not an effective wife of a President of a company."

"Why?" Reno asked.

"She's too fragile. She's never gone hungry before… life was roses for her, everything given. She takes things for granted. A wife has a lot of responsibilities, especially when your husband is a corporate president." She stretched like a cat. "Which is one of the reasons I'm so glad I'm not the one marrying Rufus. That'd be terrible."

Reno nearly blurted out that she was very close at one point, then kept his mouth shut. It was knowledge that really did no use.


That winter, it snowed profusely; Yule was a private ordeal, and it passed quickly. Reno remembered the lonely Yule's before Arien appeared in his life, or the drunken nights when he drank away the celebration. But these years, Arien was there to keep him company and to smile, to decorate the tree. It was a stupid custom, but Arien liked to decorate the tree, so he acquiesced. The Turks went to the New Year's, keeping up with the tradition. They watched the sun rise in silence.

"Man, we made it through the year, yo," Reno said quietly. "I had doubts 'bout that."

The sun rose in its pink brilliance, shattering the darkness and giving gleam to the snow as they stood. Reno turned and saw Arien smiling; although they were abnormal when it came to adventures, they had a pretty ordinary relationship, Reno thought. He remembered the late-night telephones and the visits to the sea, the occasional fights and the dates.

Yeah, he had a good life. Despite all the worries and the scars he had on his body, he had a good life, with good friends and a good girlfriend. He grinned to the air, glad that he was Reno. He wasn't Cloud, who was pining for a dead girl, and he was glad that he was Reno. He wasn't bound by proprieties and crap like that, so he was glad that he wasn't Rufus. He wasn't still after the girl that could never be his, so he was glad that he was not Rude. And he sure had fun, so he was glad he was not Tseng. For the first time in his life, he felt complete.